1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a marauder guard, and more specifically to an adjustable squirrel shield to prevent squirrels and other animals from climbing bird feeder poles and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bird feeders not only provide birds with a readily available food source during the colder months, but also provide an enjoyable pastime for bird watchers. Typically when birds feed from a birdfeeder, feed becomes dislodged from the bottom of the feeder and falls to the ground. This ground feed attracts other birds and land animals including squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and cats. It does not take long for these animals to relate the dropped bird feed with the raised bird feeder. If the bird feeder is mounted atop a post, squirrels and the like can easily scamper up the pole in order to reach the bird feeder.
What is often a relaxing and enjoyable pastime can become frustrating when a squirrel reaches the feeder and begins to eat the food. First, a single squirrel can eat much more food than even a number of birds, which means the feeder quickly can become empty. The owner of the bird feeder then must frequently refill the feeder with bird food in order to once again attract the birds and ensure that the birds have a sufficient amount of food. Second, this frequent replacement of bird food can become costly and inconvenient. Third, a squirrel eating from a bird feeder scares off the birds, thus defeating the owner's purpose of having the feeder. Lastly, particular bird feeders and poles may not be designed to withstand the extra weight of a perched squirrel, and thus may become damaged or broken under the additional weight.
Many bird feeders are mounted a considerable distance above ground level at the top end of a long upright post or pole having its lower ends buried in the ground. These pole-mounted bird feeders are prone to invasion of the marauding animals, who are able to climb up the long pole to the bird feeder located at the top and steal the food. Attempts at keeping squirrels off of these types of bird feeders commonly have failed since squirrels are by nature extremely agile and cunning animals. Strategies at keeping animals away from feeders include altering the post the bird feeder sits atop making it slippery and thereby more difficult for squirrels to climb. Yet, the squirrels often still are able to overcome this obstacle, and reach the bird feeder.
Other devices have been proposed over the years to resolve animal problems by preventing the marauder from climbing completely to the top of the pole and bird feeder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,508 to Bower, R. H. discloses a marauder guard comprising an annular plate having a center hole. The marauder guard is slipped under the pole holding the bird feeder, which pole extends through the hole. The guard is then supported on the pole below the bird feeder by a spring. The device is capable of inclined movement upon animal contact, returning to a nearly perpendicular plane to the pole upon animal release.
U.S. Pat. No. D174,139 to Sadler discloses an ornamental design for a bird feeding station incorporating a barrier located beneath the bird feeder. The barrier appears to slope downward from the pole of the bird feeding station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,835 to Freed discloses another bird feeder having a platform slide subassembly. The subassembly includes an annular platform fixedly attached to a sleeve. The sleeve is slidable over the pole, extended coaxially with the pole. The platform subassembly is designed to slide down the pole when engaged by an animal attempting to climb the pole and reach the bird feeder. The bird feeder further comprises a biasing subassembly to raise the platform assembly vertically along the pole to a position in proximity to the bird feeder when the animal that had engaged the platform subassembly releases the platform subassembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,687 to Nylen et al. discloses a squirrel baffler comprising a one-piece body and a bracket assembly. The squirrel baffler is constructed by placing it around a pole above the bracket assembly and then pushing edges inwardly and sliding interlocking members together so as to engage open-ended channels of each interlocking member. The squirrel baffler is then slid into placed downward on pole until it rests securedly on top of the bracket assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,441 to Laham discloses an animal repelling device comprising two sections rotatably connected together by a connector hole and a rivet. When the sections are closed, a central opening is formed capable of accepting a drain pipe and the like therethrough. The sections are fastened together by a wire tied around angular catch members, which are adjacent to each other when the sections are in closed positions. Further, the device comprises flanges bordering the opening and extending downwardly therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,769 to Dinsmore discloses a guard device to protect highway signs from graffiti. The guard device comprises two generally identical guard members. The guard members are placed on opposite sides of sign post and then brought together to encircle the post. When brought together, the two sections have an aperture in the center of the generally circular guard through which the sign post passes through. When the two sections are fixedly attached to one another, the guard members will deform into a slightly conical shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,652 to Ferland discloses a rodent guard for use on cables, wires and the like. The rodent guard comprises a sleeve adapted to encircle the wire. The sleeve is attached to a disk having a radial slit extending from its center to its edge, and having a central hole adapted so as to hold the barrier disk in a plane at all times substantially traverse to the tubular sleeve. The slit is secured against opening by plastic tie bands.
While rodent baffles designed to be placed on poles to deter squirrels and other animals from reaching an elevated bird house (or from ascending any type of pole, such as deck supports, clothesline supports, vegetable garden plant supports, for example) are known in the art, there remains a need for an adaptable animal shield such that a single unit can be used to prevent squirrels and the like from ascending poles or trees of varying diameters, and one that can be installed by the owner in a minimum amount of time. Further, there is a need for an adaptable squirrel shield that has a low production cost and is lightweight and durable through changing weather conditions and cycles. It is to the provision of such a squirrel shield that the present invention is primarily directed.